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Paint color discussion

(This topic about color choices has been split off from a previous discussion about the prototypes in existence right now)

Tesla "Eggs" sent to those who put down a deposit:

tonybelding said:

There's never been any official word on this subject, but the resemblance of the Lotus colours to Tesla colors is way too close to be accidental. And if you think about it, they are being made on the same assembly line, so there is cost saving from using the same paints.

Here's are the matches I've made, Lotus names on the left, Tesla names on the right. . .

standard / solid colors:

Ardent Red = Fusion Red

British Racing Green = Racing Green

metallic colors:

Arctic Silver = Sterling Silver

Storm Titanium = Thunder Gray

Starlight Black = Obsidian Black

Aubergine Purple = not offered

Nightfall Blue = not offered

Magnetic Blue = not offered

Polar Blue = Glacier Blue

Racing Green = Signature Green

Canyon Red = Radiant Red

Solar Yellow = Brilliant Yellow

lifestyle / premium colors:

Aspen White = Arctic White

Chilli Red = not offered

Chrome Orange = Very Orange

Krypton Green = not offered

Laser Blue = Electric Blue

Autumn Gold = not offered

Phantom Black = Jet Black

Graphite = not offered

After looking at the Lotus color chart and the Tesla color chart side-by-side, I realized I had been wrong about a few things before. I thought Lotus's "Racing Green" had been discontinued, but it's not. I'm not completely sure of the difference between "Canyon Red" and "Chilli Red", but I still think it's a good bet that Radiant Red = Canyon Red. I didn't think Lotus even offered a solid black, but now I'm thinking Phantom Black must be it (and am still left wondering what makes it a premium or "lifestyle" color).

After comparing them, the correlation between Elise colors and Roadster colors is even closer than I realized before. It really is way too close to be coincidence.

I believe the car used for testing on the frozen lake in Sweden was most likely Thunder Gray -- at least that's what it looked like to me, in the videos.

The red car (EP 2, right?) that everyone has seen so much is definitely Radiant Red. I have not yet seen any Roadsters painted Fusion Red, but I know it's a solid (non-metallic) color and is considerably brighter than Radiant Red. It's much closer to traditional Ferrari red.

The black car, EP 1, I think is Obsidian Black. It's a metallic color. . . But you have to really get it into bright sunlight to see the sparkle of the metal-flake paint. It's subtle. I've seen one or two close-up photos where it appears to be visible. The whole idea of a metallic black is pretty questionable to me, I've got to say.

Also a correction. . . The VP 1 is definitely not Racing Green. It's "Signature Green", which is a kind of very dark metallic green offered only to the Signature One Hundred buyers. Racing Green is a lighter (but still fairly dark) solid green which hasn't yet been seen on a Roadster, but here's what it looks like on an Elise:

I think Black EP1 has some metallic sparkle so it must be Obsidian Black rather than Jet Black.

Personally I like dark metallic colors. Yes the sparkle is subdued but it gives it a little bit of mysterious presence.

My current Lexus is "Graphite Gray Peal" which has metal flake as well as pearlescence.
Many people would also think the pearl is wasted on such a dark color, but people comment on how it makes attractive reflections in the sunlight.

I don't think this is Electric Blue, I don't think it's any of the standard Roadster colors. It looks to me like the much darker Magnetic Blue, which is a standard Elise color but isn't being offered by Tesla. This car was only seen in spy photos and presumably was never meant to be seen by the public -- so if they painted it a color which is not actually offered to Tesla buyers, it wasn't considered a problem.

It caused me a lot of confusion for a while before I figured this out.

It's either the Magnetic Blue car with really poor lighting, or it's what Lotus refer to as "Midnight Blue" which is a super-dark metallic blue.

Yes, the Elise is available in three different shades of metallic blue: Midnight Blue, Magnetic Blue, and Laser Blue. Tesla's Electric Blue is apparently the same as Lotus's Laser Blue, based on the photos of VP 9.

CORRECTION: The darkest blue that Lotus offer is Nightfall Blue, not Midnight Blue. I had simply mis-remembered it.

CORRECTION 2: I forgot about Polar Blue. The Elise is actually offered in *four* different blues.

Awesome thread! So has Tesla ever told us whether or not their colors are just renamed Elise colors? Or are they actually reformulated a bit? Seems to me that most manufacturers like to make the point (pretend?) that their colors are unique. Personally, I'm happy if they're really just Elise colors since coming up with original colors seems like a wasted expense and the existing Elise colors are great.

Awesome thread! So has Tesla ever told us whether or not their colors are just renamed Elise colors? Or are they actually reformulated a bit? Seems to me that most manufacturers like to make the point (pretend?) that their colors are unique. Personally, I'm happy if they're really just Elise colors since coming up with original colors seems like a wasted expense and the existing Elise colors are great.

Click to expand...

There's never been any official word on this subject, but the resemblance of the colors is way too close to be accidental. And if you think about it, they are being made on the same assembly line, so there is cost saving from using the same paints.

Here's are the matches I've made, Lotus names on the left, Tesla names on the right. . .

standard / solid colors:

Ardent Red = Fusion Red

British Racing Green = Racing Green

metallic colors:

Arctic Silver = Sterling Silver

Storm Titanium = Thunder Gray

Starlight Black = Obsidian Black

Aubergine Purple = not offered

Nightfall Blue = not offered

Magnetic Blue = not offered

Polar Blue = Glacier Blue

Racing Green = Signature Green

Canyon Red = Radiant Red

Solar Yellow = Brilliant Yellow

lifestyle / premium colors:

Aspen White = Arctic White

Chilli Red = not offered

Chrome Orange = Very Orange

Krypton Green = not offered

Laser Blue = Electric Blue

Autumn Gold = not offered

Phantom Black = Jet Black

Graphite = not offered

After looking at the Lotus color chart and the Tesla color chart side-by-side, I realized I had been wrong about a few things before. I thought Lotus's "Racing Green" had been discontinued, but it's not. I'm not completely sure of the difference between "Canyon Red" and "Chilli Red", but I still think it's a good bet that Radiant Red = Canyon Red. I didn't think Lotus even offered a solid black, but now I'm thinking Phantom Black must be it (and am still left wondering what makes it a premium or "lifestyle" color).

After comparing them, the correlation between Elise colors and Roadster colors is even closer than I realized before. It really is way too close to be coincidence.

And if you think about it, they are being made on the same assembly line, so there is cost saving from using the same paints.

Click to expand...

Though I didn't spell it out, this was exactly my point. It's a bit of a shame they don't go ahead and just offer all the Lotus colors. Then again, that may prove difficult in the future. Since I think the plan is to eventually move assembly of the Roadster to the US.

Though I didn't spell it out, this was exactly my point. It's a bit of a shame they don't go ahead and just offer all the Lotus colors. Then again, that may prove difficult in the future. Since I think the plan is to eventually move assembly of the Roadster to the US.

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Where did you get that from?

From past statements, Tesla's plan is to keep Roadster production in England for the life span of that program. Unless something goes badly wrong over at Lotus (such as bankruptcy, or purchase by a corporate parent hostile to Tesla), they want to continue with Lotus assembling them at least until the Roadster 2 is called for, which could be many years down the road.

Though I didn't spell it out, this was exactly my point. It's a bit of a shame they don't go ahead and just offer all the Lotus colors. Then again, that may prove difficult in the future. Since I think the plan is to eventually move assembly of the Roadster to the US.

Click to expand...

Oh, and with regard to offering all the Lotus colors. . . Some of those colors have proven wildly unpopular. You will have to search far and wide to find an Elise in Aubergine Purple, Aztec Bronze, Krypton Green or Nightfall Blue. For about the first year after the Elise was brought over to the USA, Aztec Bronze was infamous as the color that nobody had ever seen because nobody ordered a car in that color. Aubergine Purple and Krypton Green cars often appeared in magazine test drives, because Lotus had a few made in that color but couldn't find buyers for them. It takes a special person to appreciate those very offbeat, very unfashionable colors. I think Aubergine Purple looks great in the sunlight, and I know of one Krypton Green owner who is crazy about his car -- but they definitely are hues most people would not regard as normal for a car.

The one omission from Tesla's palette that puzzles me is Magnetic Blue, because I thought it was popular on the Elise, and it's a very attractive color -- and not freaky-looking at all. But I guess they figured with Laser/Electric Blue and Polar/Glacier Blue they had the blue side of things covered well enough?

From past statements, Tesla's plan is to keep Roadster production in England for the life span of that program. Unless something goes badly wrong over at Lotus (such as bankruptcy, or purchase by a corporate parent hostile to Tesla), they want to continue with Lotus assembling them at least until the Roadster 2 is called for, which could be many years down the road.

Click to expand...

Your talking about the "Since I think the plan is to eventually move assembly of the Roadster to the US."? I thought I had read in one of the early articles about looking for a place for the White Star plant that the Roadster would also eventually also be built at that plant. Of course that is far off and likely to be a later version of the Roadster. Then again, it could have just been a reporter getting things mixed up.